Donations of clothing and money are being accepted to help a Pawleys Island area woman and her family who were left without a home after a fire this week.

Smoke and heat damage from the fire on Wednesday afternoon left the home uninhabitable.

The one-story structure at 225 Annie Rainey Lane, belongs to Vertrella Brown, the woman known for adding the “soul” to Palmetto Cheese and whose face graces the label. Her daughter and grandchild were in the house when the fire started, said a first cousin, Cynthia Greene. Both got out safely.

Brown has a son at Waccamaw High and grandchildren at Waccamaw Intermediate and Waccamaw Middle. The schools immediate spread the word to help get clothes for the family. A Facebook page was set up by Palmetto Cheese and Get Carried Away, where Brown works, to raise funds for the family.

The fire started at about 12:30 p.m. The cause is under investigation, but it appears to have started in a front bedroom, said Bob Beebe, spokesman for Midway Fire and Rescue.

Brown was driving home from Georgetown when her daughter called her about the fire. She watched from the lawn with family as firefighters tried to save her home and possessions. She lost everything except what she was wearing.